News > Languedoc
Man dies, mistaking edible plant with toxic plant
A couple and a friend were out walking near Alénya in the Pyrénées-Orientales, and they picked a plant which they thought was coscoll, or couscouil, a Catalan plant traditionally eaten in a salad, or macerated in alcohol to make a local drink.
Actually what they picked was aconite, also known as wolf’s bane, which is very toxic.
After ingesting the plant, the man died on Saturday, and the two women were quickly hospitalised in Perpignan. One of the women is very ill. The plant was a very toxic mountain plant of the Ranunculaceae family.
Please take care if you are harvesting plants and mushrooms in the wild. Make sure you know what you are picking, and if in doubt either leave it alone, or get it checked out. Most pharmacies will check mushrooms for you, and some will also identify edible plants.
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